


so just be gentle with me

by likewinning



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 15:52:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6572335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likewinning/pseuds/likewinning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He likes knowing that with the exception of Barry (who's family, and family doesn't count), he's totally Wally's favorite person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	so just be gentle with me

The first day of class, Wally throws an apple at Hal from the last row of chairs, then runs out of the room laughing. Hal doesn't take it personally or anything; it's not like he teaches anything _serious_ , and anyway, he's known Wally for years through Barry. They used to take Wally to baseball games where Wally would eat so much he'd fall asleep on the ride home, and he went to more of Wally's track meets than he can _count_. There isn't much about Wally he doesn't know.

He catches up with Wally later in the day, hoping to thoroughly embarrass him in front of his fellow freshman, but instead of pretending like he doesn't know him or whatever, Wally grins up at him and pats a seat next to him where he's sitting under a tree. "Hey, man," he says, "Have a seat."

"Oh, uh -" Hal starts, but once Wally starts, it's hard to get him to stop.

Wally points a couple feet away at another kid making faces at his phone, obviously taking a selfie. "You remember Dick, right?"

"Sure," Hal says. "Hey, Dick."

"Hi," Dick says, smiling back before he returns his gaze to his phone.

"Hal," Wally says, "Is it _true_ Professor Lance is - um - why are you laughing?" Wally asks, because Hal _is_ , and he can't _stop_.

"Oh, kiddo," Hal says. He plops down in front of Wally, crossing his legs. " _Tell_ me you didn't sign up for Intro to Psych with her because you thought it would be _easy_."

"Duh," Wally says, but he's blushing a little now. "I'm not here to like, be a scholar or anything, Hal."

"I am," Dick pipes up, fixing his hair.

"Jesus," Hal says. He pats Wally's knee. "When do you have her?"

"First thing tomorrow morning," Wally says, looking scared now.

"Well," Hal says. "I'd say tell her you know me, but she still hates my guts since I broke her coffee maker."

"Oh," Wally says, looking glum.

"Hey," Hal says, ruffling Wally's hair. "It'll be okay, kid. Just sit near the back of the class, and _don't_ be late. She probably won't throw a shoe at you."

"She _did_ that?" Wally asks.

"Yeah," Hal says. "Had the black eye to prove it." He's maybe not telling Wally the whole story on that one. Not because Wally's too _young_ \- it just makes him look bad.

"Dick," Wally says, looking over at him. Dick waves him off.

"I'll be fine," Dick says. "Teachers _love_ me."

Hal snorts. "Just for that," he says. "I think I'll fail you."

"I'm not even in your class."

"Yeah, but just you know. On principle," Hal says. Dick sticks his tongue out at him, and Hal looks back at Wally. "Seriously, it's just one semester. You'll be good. And hey, make it through the week with her? I'll take you out to dinner on Friday."

"Yeah?" Wally asks. He bats his lashes. "A _date_?"

Hal punches his shoulder. "Or you can go back to eating Ramen and Poptarts," he says.

"We don't even have _those_ anymore," Wally says, and then glares over at Dick.

"What?" Dick asks. "There was a toaster malfunction."

"Four times," Wally mutters to Hal, and Hal laughs, ruffles his hair again and says, "I'll pick you up a box soon. Blueberry?"

Wally grins at him. "You're my _hero_." Then he blinks. "Hey, shouldn't you be in class?"

"Yeah, but not for another -" Hal checks his watch. "Now. Yep, I should be in class now." He shouts goodbye to Wally and Dick and sprints off across the quad. Maybe he'll buy Dinah something nice so she doesn't eat Wally alive tomorrow.

 

*

 

Wally calls when Hal's in the middle of giving a very important presentation on surviving an alien invasion. He's just rounding up to assign homework (explain the importance of tinfoil hats) when his phone blares out the _Gilligan's Island_ theme song Wally put on there ages ago.

"Whoops," Hal says when everyone laughs. "Uh, so like I was saying…"

He calls Wally back when he gets out of class. "Hal," Wally says. "She _kicked me out_."

"Uh-oh," Hal says. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing!" Wally says. "Well, okay. I laughed when Dick asked how long before we got to learn about oral fixation, but _he's_ the one who made the dumb joke."

"Heh," Hal says. "But I've heard you laugh, kiddo." Wally has this big, loud laugh, the kind that lights up his face and could startle the dead. Hal loves watching movies with him, the way he'll just go into _hysterics_ for the stupidest things. "Caused a ruckus, didn't you?" Hal asks.

"Maybe," Wally says.

"Uh-huh," Hal says. "Gotta watch how you behave out here in the real world."

"Oh, really?" Wally asks. "What'd you guys do today, play _Space Invaders_?"

"TV's not working," Hal says dismissively.

"Right," Wally says. "So, I guess this means I don't get dinner."

"Nope," Hal says, grinning.

"But Hal," Wally whines. "I'm _starving_. Dick eats _all_ the food, and -"

Hal doesn't hear the rest because he's too busy laughing. "Fine, fine," Hal says. "I'll take you out."

"Cool," Wally says. "Can it be tonight, though? And can it be that Italian place a little ways from here? 'Cause I've heard -"

"Italian?" Hal interrupts. "What makes you think I can afford all this fancy food?"

"Duh," Wally says. "You're a professor. That makes you rich, right?"

Hal sighs. "Kid," he says. "I'm making you sign up for Economics next semester."

 

*

 

When he shows up at Wally's dorm that evening to pick him up, there's a girl smoking a joint on the porch. She blinks up at him, panics, and quickly puts the joint out, throwing it into the bushes. Hal laughs. "I hope that wasn't anything good," he says.

The girl runs off without a word. Wally comes down a couple minutes later and sniffs the air. "Hal," he whispers. "I think someone in my dorm is doing _drugs_."

"Yeah," Hal says. "Probably _you_."

"I would _never_ ," Wally says, and Hal remembers the first time Barry busted Wally smoking pot, how when Barry told him he laughed for ages.

"He could lose his scholarship," Barry kept saying, and Hal brushed him off, told him if it came down to _that_ he'd help pay for it. "And anyway," Hal added. "It's just _weed_. What are you, eighty years old?"

"How was the rest of your day?" Hal asks when they get to the car, and Wally yammers the whole way to the restaurant about his Sports Medicine class, and sharing a dorm with Dick, and how truly terrifying Dinah is. Hal just lets him talk, nodding along here and there. He _missed_ this - he was away for most of the summer and really hasn't seen Wally much since Wally's high school graduation. He misses hearing Wally get so excited about the littlest things, like the way his eyes light up when his food shows up at the table.

"Now," Hal says. "A _smart_ college student would bring a little of that home, save it for the next day's meal -"

"Shut _up_ ," Wally says around a mouthful of pasta. "You're _ruining_ this."

Hal snorts. "Thanks for dinner, Hal. How is _your_ week going, Hal?"

"Yeah, yeah," Wally says. He wipes sauce from his face with the back of his hand and waves his fork around. "You _missed_ seeing my face all the time."

Hal clears his throat. Yeah, Wally's right - Europe was kind of boring compared to when he was some idiot _teenager_ trekking around with Barry and Carol - but it's something about the _way_ Wally said it.

And jesus, but that sounded like a Bruce sentence.

"When's your first track meet?" Hal asks.

"Next week," Wally says. "But it's during the day, so if you can't come, it's not a big deal -"

"Forget it," Hal says. He knows Wally's useless parents wouldn't turn up if it was the goddamn Olympics, and he can cancel class this once, and - Wally's face just lights _up_. He must've gotten a lot of sun this summer, because his freckles seem even darker than usual, and Hal can see all these flecks of gold in his hair.

"Hal?" Wally asks, and Hal blinks.

"Huh?" he asks.

Wally prods at Hal's almost untouched plate with his fork. Wally's plate is just about demolished. "You gonna eat that?"

Hal bats him away with his fork. "Yes," he says. "But I'll send you home with the leftovers."

Wally grins. "And dessert?" he asks.

"Seriously," Hal says. "Econ. Look into it."

Wally just laughs at him.

 

*

 

The day of Wally's first track meet, it's roughly seven thousand degrees outside. Hal's supposed to be teaching class in a nice, air conditioned building, but instead he's sweating his face off so he can watch a bunch of skinny kids run circles around a dirt path or whatever. There aren't really a lot of other people there - some local moms and dads, one or two students who must not have class right now. Hal would socialize, maybe, but he knows he looks like a total creep with his dirty baseball cap and dark sunglasses.

Still, it's worth it for the way Wally lights up when he sees him, the way afterward he comes running up to Hal pink-faced and dripping with sweat. He throws his arms around Hal and laughs when Hal says _oof_ like the old man he kind of is.

"Did you see me?" Wally asks. "Did you see how good my time was?"

"I did," Hal says. "Are you like, a superhero or something?"

"Duh," Wally says. "I've been telling you this for years."

Hal laughs, reluctantly untangles Wally's limbs from him - people are staring, a bit - and says, "So what are your plans tonight? Big celebratory keg? Or are you too good for those already?"

"Well," Wally says. He walks with Hal toward the parking lot, grabs a water and a couple of energy bars along the way. "Dickie wants to go to some party that the frat boys are holding."

"Right," Hal says. "Of course."

Wally's quiet for a minute, and then he brightens up and says, "You should come."

And Hal forgets that he's a goddamn professor, that he should've given up cheap beer and terrible music years ago. He just snakes one of the energy bars out of Wally's hands, smacks him on the nose and says, "You got it."

 

*

 

The first thing Hal sees when he gets to the party is a drunk kid throwing up. Maybe other adults would stop and help him, but then how is this kid supposed to _learn_? Hal is totally a teacher all day every day.

He walks up the stairs and into the house, grabs a beer and wanders for a bit until he finds Wally, upside down doing headstands with Dick. Wally's shirt is lifted up and Hal can see freckles and abs and a little trail of hair that makes him think -

"Hal!" Wally says, and promptly falls over. He pushes himself to his feet, pink-faced and grinning. "We were having a competition," Wally explains, gesturing to Dick. "But he always wins."

"Circus freak," Dick says, wiggling his bare toes. "Hey, Hal."

"Howdy," Hal says. They leave Dick doing crazy gymnastics moves for a bunch of girls and move over to one of the couches. Wally sits halfway on top of him, loose-limbed and drunker than Hal thought.

"Are you gonna drink that?" Wally asks about Hal's beer, and Hal hands it off to him without thinking about it.

"Things going better?" Hal asks.

"Yeah," Wally says. They watch Dick do a backflip over some beer cans.

"Must be a trip living with him," Hal comments. He thought _Wally_ had too much energy.

"Yeah," Wally says. He giggles, looks around to see if anyone's listening. When Hal looks at him, his eyes are so, so green, and his freckles -

"We fooled around before we got here," he says. "I think I still smell like him."

It's a testament to how cool Hal is that he doesn't choke. "Oh," he says. "I didn't know you were -"

"I'm not!" Wally says, maybe too loud. He giggles, lowers his voice a little and says, "I mean, neither of us is. But it feels good sometimes, right? Someone else - you know."

Hal does, and the thing is, it's hard not to picture it, Wally and Dick fooling around on one of their beds, hands wrapped around each other's dicks, maybe even -

Hal clears his throat, feels his face getting warm. He's not entirely sure what he's doing here, and the more he looks around, the more he sees that there are people - staring at him. Maybe he only _feels_ twenty sometimes, but.

"You know," Hal says. "I think I might go. Let you mingle with some people. Meet -" _a nice girl_ , he almost says, only part of him doesn't really want Wally to meet anyone at all. He _likes_ that Wally calls him at five in the morning sometimes after his run to talk about dumb TV shows and the weird bird he saw that morning. He likes knowing that with the exception of Barry (who's family, and family doesn't count), he's totally Wally's favorite person.

"You should," Hal tries again, but Wally shushes him. Pokes him in the stomach and breathes beer breath on him and says, "No mingling. I mingled before you got here. I'm mingled out. If you go, I go."

"Wally…" Hal tries, but Wally shakes his head at him, forgets he's still holding half a beer and spills on himself. "Damn," Wally says. "This is Dick's shirt."

"It'll wash," Hal says, and Wally nods, bites his lip.

"Yeah," he says. "Only we haven't figured out how to do laundry yet."

"Man," Hal says, laughing. He takes the beer out of Wally's hand and sets it on the coffee table in front of them. "And I thought I was hopeless."

"You're not hopeless," Wally says. He's smiling this droopy, dopey smile like he's about twenty seconds from falling asleep in some strange frat house. "You're like, the best guy I know. Dick gets jealous 'cause I talk about you all the time."

Hal swallows. "Does he?"

"Yeah," Wally says. "But I asked him if he ever flew a plane and he said _no_ , so there you go."

"Oh," Hal teases. "Is that all it is?"

"No," Wally says. He blushes, and then hops to his feet, almost tipping right back onto the couch before he steadies himself. "Let's go," he says. "You can drive me back to my dorm."

"So that's all I am, huh?" Hal asks as they navigate their way out of the house. "A glorified taxi service?"

"No," Wally says. They get outside onto the porch, and Wally looks up and blinks at him. "You're Hal," he says, like it's the simplest thing in the world. And maybe it is. Maybe -

Hal looks away, takes Wally's arm and leads him to the car. They both get in, but before Hal can pull onto the street, Wally puts his hand over Hal's arm and stops him.

"Wally?" Hal asks. He looks over at him, and Wally has that look on his face like when someone asks him to diagram a sentence.

"I know I'm kinda drunk," Wally says. "But I want - I know I want to, okay, so just -"

Hal meets him halfway. Wally moves in toward him, and Hal cups the back of Wally's head, drags him in until he feels Wally's mouth against his, soft and warm. He swipes his tongue across Wally's lips and Wally opens for him and he tastes beer and potato chips and something else that must just be Wally. 

It's good. It's even better when Wally makes a noise against him, a soft sigh that comes with Wally fisting his hand in Hal's t-shirt, the other in Hal's hair until he's all but climbed into Hal's lap.

"Wally," Hal says when they pull back for air. Wally's eyes are huge, and his hair's messed up from Hal's hands being in it, and probably Hal should let _go_ , but he doesn't want to.

"You know," Wally says. He licks his lips, rubs his fingers over the stubble on Hal's cheek. "I'm not - at least, I never thought I was, but - I think a part of me has been into you since I was fifteen."

Hal lets out a breath. "Fifteen, huh?"

"Yeah," Wally says. He brushes his thumb over Hal's bottom lip, and Hal can't help darting his tongue out to taste. "I mean, probably younger. But I thought that would freak you out less. That's what you're doing, right?"

"You're perceptive when you're drunk," Hal says.

Wally grins. "Maybe I should start bringing beers to class, then."

"I did _not_ advise that," Hal says.

"Might improve the quality of _your_ classes," Wally says, and Hal snorts.

"Come on," he says. "Let's get you back to your dorm."

Wally crawls back into his seat, and they're quiet for a couple of minutes while they drive around the campus. Then they park, and Wally clicks his seatbelt back off, and this time Hal pushes his seat back enough that when Wally gets in his lap this time, there's enough room for him to work Wally's jeans open while he kisses him.

"Oh," Wally says when Hal gets his hand around him. "Oh fuck, _Hal_."

"Feel good?" Hal murmurs against his mouth, and Wally says, "Jesus, are you kidding me? I'm _ashamed_ of my hand right now."

"Moron," Hal says fondly. He squeezes Wally harder, works him faster, uses his other hand to stroke his balls. "I want to do more," Hal admits, while Wally pants into his shoulder. "When you're not drunk, I want - want to taste you, suck you -"

" _Fuck me_ ," Wally groans, and Hal says, "Yeah. That too," and Wally spills all over him, shuddering and clutching Hal's shoulder as he does.

"Fuck," Wally says. He collapses on top of Hal, and Hal grunts when he feels Wally brush against his dick. They stay there for a couple minutes, until Hal starts to worry about Wally falling asleep and he nudges him back off of him.

"I didn't do anything for you," Wally realizes. He looks sleepy, and happy, and Hal really, really means it even if he shouldn't when he says, "Next time."

He kisses Wally again before he gets out of the car, and Wally starts laughing in the middle of it, pulls back and says, "Now I'm _really_ not gonna be able to shut up about you."

Hal kisses his forehead, then the freckles on his cheeks. "It's okay," he says. "I know the feeling."


End file.
